Daniel Farke has Sam Byram at Leeds United concern after official statement emerges
Daniel Farke will have been pulling at his hair as it is when it was announced Leeds United full-back Junior Firpo had received a three-game ban from the FA.
The governing body announced on Saturday (9 November) via X that the Dominican Republic international has been banned for three games due to violent conduct from an incident in the midweek defeat to Millwall.
While the incident was missed at the time, video footage caught Firpo in an incident with Danny McNamara and consequently he has now been sanctioned.
What might be a bigger concern for Farke is how to manage his resources. Sam Byram had played two straight games after Firpo and Jayden Bogle had sat out due to one-match bans against Bristol City and Plymouth Argyle.
Now, playing Byram is not the issue – far from it. The 31-year-old remains a figure of consistency at this level and is a valuable squad man at Elland Road.
Sam Byram injury record a concern for Daniel Farke at Leeds United
The issue is his injury record historically has been an issue and it is something Farke himself alluded to recently when previewing the Millwall game.
He said in quotes reported by BBC Sport (5 November) of Byram: “It can be tricky when the turnaround is quicker because of his age and injury history.”
Farke, of course, does also have Isaac Schmidt as part of his full-back ranks but he is more of a right-sided player and the best back-up option on the left is clearly Firpo.
But given Firpo is now going to miss the QPR game on Saturday (9 November) as well as matches against Swansea (24 November) and Luton Town (27 November) after the international break, it will be a concern to the boss about how he manages Byram’s time and body.
What he won’t want to do is have Byram unavailable as we get closer and closer to the intense Christmas schedule. Let’s hope the boss can manage his resources accordingly.
In other Leeds United news, another high-level figure could be on his way out at Elland Road.
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